Total marijuana sales in Colorado were flat in April on a year-over-year basis for the first time since the state launched its recreational market in 2014, reflecting a continued decline in medical cannabis sales.
The data is compiled by the Colorado Department of Revenue.
The department’s data shows April 2018 sales in Colorado of both medical and recreational cannabis totaled $124.31 million, compared with $124.27 million in April 2017.
Recreational sales in April were up year-over-year from $86.22 million to $97.29 million, but that wasn’t enough to exceed the decline in medical marijuana sales ($38.05 million in April 2017 to $27.02 million in April 2018).
According to the Marijuana Business Factbook 2018, many occasional MMJ users are opting not to renew their patient cards because of the ease in buying cannabis from the rec market.
April is generally a softer month in Colorado, coming on the heels of the traditionally record-setting March.
Colorado’s retail stores also may be seeing fewer out-of-state buyers now that the adult-use markets in Nevada and California are off and running, according to the Factbook.